Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

Every time I have one of those bolt seals, or better yet those complicated box locks from Hewlett-Packard, I always think "Man, what a great way to let the criminal element know there is something in the trailer worth stealing."

 

Currently I am the yard jockey down here at BH in Jarratt. What has that entailed? Got here, dropped my mty, hooked up to a trl & pulled it out of one door and backed it into another, waiting to get it loaded and then I’ll put it somewhere else on this yard. Yeah. Boring, but getting paid. Rather be driving. No clue how long I’m even supposed to be here today & hope like heck I don’t have to do it ever again.

 

Ya, he’s my DM ... looking forward to working with him... I guess he has some experience but new to Abilene... so hoping CN will train him up right...

I’m giving him a learning experience with this Costco Load... it was rejected as being too early ... A WEEK TOO EARLY... lol

Last night all looked good... they let me on the Yard to park for the night and gave me paperwork for a 9:30am Unload...

They unloaded the trailer...
THEN reloaded it
before rejecting it...

sitting on it for six extra hours now... just “informed” the broker that he has until 5pm to find a solution and then I’m taking it to RVA.

Lost a whole day driving for this load.

 

Exactly... lol

 

Sounds like I need to get on that West Memphis board.

 

Was that a C.H. Robinson broker load?

 

No... Allen Something (Lund?) Company

My wife looked at me rather strange when I started getting a bit serious with him... lol ... then I told her “that was the Broker, not Darius”... lol

 

O! My first time with that patircular broker was about two weeks ago. Someone keeps giving out the wrong office number.
I went to pickup a load of sugar I think it was in S.C. to drop in the Richmond terminal.
It’s your wife liking the OTR experience?

 

She says “yup, getting used to it”

I think she would get her CDL tomorrow and start teaming, that is if we could afford the cut in pay... lol

 

@JohnBoy ... I know I comment here about our lack of quality communications here at Abilene, and others know my opinion outside of this group, but would you please bring this before the Drivers Committee???

Two examples just TODAY... {smh}

I’m told to grab an empty and drop it at customer ABC... grab the PreLoad and roll. Simple... ok... let’s go...

Asked for a list of empties on the Yard, no response... I start looking.... can’t find any... I send another request... continue looking... every trailer is ether sealed or, when opened, has product in them... I finally call in... my fine new DM digs into it for me (A+ to Darius) and tells me that empties are now out by the street by the flag pole... (news to me... honestly, did I miss a memo?)

Yup, I go out there and there are like five... awesome... grab one and roll to ABC company.

I get here... and the gate at the commerce rd Address is closed and locked... now I have to BACK UP into oncoming traffic... {big safety issue}... I drive down to the other corner to another gate... same thing... then the Yard Dog (actually an Abilene Driver) comes to my rescue... turns out, we go into the THIRD GATE around the corner on yes, you got it, A DIFFERENT STREET altogether... UTurn in the construction area next door...

I get to the right place on a different street than the QC sent me... and all is good... {well, three more hours before the load is ready.... LOL}

So... Dear Drivers Committee, can we PLEASE encourage Abilene to give us the correct SHIPPING addresses instead of the BILLING addresses??? PLEASE???

Or, if that feat is impossible I suggest the following: like we get COMP: notices to do this or don’t do that... can we create a DtD: Driver to Driver comment that flows with the TO???

DtD: Commerce Rd Address is WRONG... Guard shack is on Main St around the corner.

This “DtD:” comment section could be used for other things too... i.e. DtD: this customer will let you sleep on their lot for your ten... just bump the dock and go to bed... they will knock on your door for paperwork and let you go back to sleep.

And seriously, am I the only Driver that was totally unaware that empty trailers are now kept out front by the road? If I am, I will apologize for my lack of common knowledge... but seriously, wasted 45 minutes looking for #### on the Yard that was no longer on the Yard... ugh.